Automatic Defibrillators Boost Cardiac Arrest Survival

A large US teaching hospital has reported a vast improvement in the survival of cardiac arrest patients since the installation of automatic external bedside defibrillators.

The defibrillators were installed in the cardiac care and intensive care units, step-down telemetry wards, and emergency room. In the first four months of deployment, many therapy interventions were made by the devices, according to the hospital. In all cases, patients were successfully returned to normal cardiac rhythm in a matter of seconds. Because of the immediate intervention, there was no need for the crash-cart team and none of the patients required intubation. As a result, the hospital has increased the number of defibrillators available from 68 to 104.

The American Heart Association (AHA) revised its guidelines last year for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and emergency cardiac care, placing major emphasis on the need for immediate defibrillation. The AHA stated that reducing the time to first shock by as little as one minute does more to improve patient survival than all current resuscitation interventions combined. Currently only about 20% of US patients experiencing cardiac arrest survive to discharge.

The hospital, Maimonides Medical Center (Brooklyn, New York, USA), used the Powerheart defibrillator, developed by Cardiac Science, Inc. (Irvine, CA, USA). When the Powerheart senses an abnormal heart rhythm, it automatically provides a brief electric shock through the patient's chest to the heart, restoring normal rhythm.

"The impact made at Maimonides by Powerheart technology has been dramatic and has facilitated a fundamental change in our approach to the treatment of cardiac arrest,” said Gerald Hollander, M.D., director of clinical cardiology at Maimonides. "The time from arrhythmia onset to successful defibrillation has been greatly reduced.”




Related Links:
Cardiac Science